Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-09-12
CHINESE suPERsTlTloNs.
They are Likely to Inter fore
with Substantial Im=
provements.
New Barrier in the, Way Of the Enter
prising count---A c~orrsspon-
don't Thinks the Boom
inflated.

date Of Shanghai, Aug. oath, says: The
most contradicting rumors concerning
Count Mitkiewiscz and his syndicate pre-
vail here. The North Shi, a daily news,
gives the establishment of the new bank
with its fullest credit but there are those
who hold that this journal has been Sin
fiuenced''.to write as 1t does. One thing
is certain; the syndicate represented by
Count Mitkiewiscz has obtained the con-
tract for the establishment Of telephone
lines in all Chinese ports, but what does
this amount tor Absolutely nothing SO
far as / can see. The use Of the teIe-
phone in China will be very small for
the many years to come Even In the
capital the demand for anything Of the
kind is insignifcantly small and grant
ing even that this concession includes
the right OF opening telegraphic commu-
nication between the various centres OF
Chinese commerce, the undertaking is
one full of enormous obstacles.
Even in this present year telegraph
poles. have been uprooted and wires cut
because these western innovations are
believed to obstr uct the free passage of
"feng shut wind water Spirits and thus
bring misfortune upon the land. 1t may
Just be possible that the government
telegraph between a few of the largest
cities will escape he unreasoning dislike
OF the people. But even in this case it
Will require the constant watchfulness
OF a large body of troops to keep the line
intact. China is not SO walked up as the
articles OF concession granted to the new
corporation would seem to Indicate.
Count Mitkiewiscz has been laboring for
two years backed by capital fully ade-
quate to carry almost any gigantic
schemes, but 1t Is rot to be supposed
that this very thing has not been at
tempted often enough nor does it seem
probable that the Chinese authorities
are so very fond Of the United States
that they should in this instance have
become SO thoroughly Americanized.
And what of the railroad grant, So
far as the line between Tien Tsin and
Pekin Is concerned It's construction has
long since passed into French hands.
That nation has representatives here
offering to build the line ten per cent
cheaper than all other competitors. It
Is utterly ridiculous to speak glibly of a
railroad between Canton and Pekip.
The natural obstacles in the way OF such.
an enterprise are simply enormous, not
to speak of the fact that the inhabitants
of southern Tuhkten and northern
KWangtung, two of the most important
seaboard provinces, are not seriously dis
/ Affected aSa aiWays opposed TO govern
ment innovations. Scores of years have
still to pass before such a scheme
could boast even the possibility OF sue
cess. Much more likely to succeed would
be q railroad between the capital and
some of ths most cities on the Yong Tsze.
The establishment of y line running to
Wuhuras has long been projected. Yet
even in this case it must nGt be forgotten
that these self-same towns were once the
strongholds of Topping rebels and are
far from being loyal centers to-day.
In establishing railways in this coun-
try there are these three great objects to
overcome:
First--The broken nature OF the coun-
try to be traversed.
Second-The hatred Of foreign innova-
ton and
Third-The ilnpossibllity of forcing the
people TO work in harmony with the gov
eminent.
traYe are told biyally, y said the cores.
pendent, '.that the concessions made to
the American syndicate include mining
new coin, perhaps the issuance of new
bank notes and the right to discover and
work mines throughout the empire. AS
for the first matter, the amo is 3aIpa-
bly, false. Nothing of the kind eau pos
sibiy be true. The. government has its
own mint and has hitherto persistently
refused to allow any other nation to In
terest itself in the matter.
Copper cash are the coins. current and
the only coins demanded by traffic in the
interior. These are mined IN Pekin
under government Supervision, and 1t is
very far from being even probable that
L IA cryuItaNfn ~ tf-s
hold of this coinage. And / doubt very
much whether it would pay if they did.
With regard to the mines one can only
trust that the ~pretensions of the count
are founded on facts. Chinese mineral
wealth incidentally large and only a
small portion has been utilized hereto
fore. Still foreign residents In this conn
try completely discredit the counts
statements in this connection. Nor can
! believe that the government would eyer
agree to such concessions.